Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 50 — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

IT TAKES TWO tea. It was good, sweet and strong. ! “Well,” Claire said, flush- ing. “You might be able to buy one at the store.” “Where is that?” “The other side of town. Jikko runs it, and he’s mostly got what we want in stock.” She smiled. “But I’d wait until the men get back from their hunting.” “Thank you for the tea, miss—Claire,” Jarril said. “Tll find this store and be right back.” He went out into the sun- shine, and now he could hear the shouts and laughter of children at play. The motor atop the well whined, and a group of gaily-clad women were chattering and gossip- ing as their water-cans were wound up. This society was an atrocious blend of modern and ancient. A honking came from behind and he leaped agilely into the shelter of a hut doorway, his hand going to his gun, as a three-wheeled car purred past, dust spread- ing lazily from its balloon tyres. He shook his head, feel- ing the mentalarm press down round his forehead as the heat of the sun made wearing it gradually more and more uncomfortable. He was about to take it off, secure that here there would be no Sokkaths, when his in- grained training halted his half-raised hand. The mentalarm shielded and filtered off thoughts, cast a blanket of force around the _ electrical activity going on in- 23 side the brain. With the mentalarm removed, the Sok- kaths could pick up a human brain like a beacon in the night. And no-one was abso- lutely sure just how far a Sokkath could pick up human thought impulses. It was, he computed with a wry moue of distaste, a hundred per cent. certainty that he should keep the mentalarm on. But it was damnably hot. As he walked rapidly through the little town he noticed that there seemed to be little work in progress. Everybody he passed seemed intent only on having a good time; they paid him scant attention and none bothered to. speak to him. That was odd; but in some stupidly- strange way it fitted in with comiclooks.cormn